The first of its kind in close to twenty years, the conference aims to link science and best practices to solutions for conservation and sustainable development of the African Great Lakes region. Spanning 850,000 km2 of ecosystems which sustain more than 50 million people in parts of 12 countries, the region boasts high biological diversity, yet faces critical challenges to human and lake health, all within the context of a changing climate. Leaders from government (natural?) resource agencies, Basin Organizations and other lake basin management groups of the region's major lakes (Lake Albert, Lake Edward, Lake Kivu, Lake Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Turkana and Lake Victoria) will come together with multi-lateral agencies, academic institutions, the private sector and non-governmental organizations, to facilitate collaboration, strengthen capacity, inform policy and management with science and practice, and encourage basin-scale ecosystem management.

The African Great Lakes Conference theme of Conservation and Development in a Changing Climate will bring together local and regional perspectives on:

• Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity Benefits

• Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Management

• Climate Change Impacts, Mitigation, Adaptation, and Resilience

• Population Dynamics, Health, and the Environment

• Balancing Conservation and Development

• Basin Governance and Financing

For more information about the conference, and to sign up to receive updates, visit our website or contact Dr. Modesta Medard: modesta.medard@tnc.org.

The just-released African Great Lakes Conference report summarizes the 2017 conference events, with details on each thematic session, overarching analyses of the abstracts, and highlights from the question and answer discussions. See the report.